Credit union representatives from the Carolinas took to Capitol Hill on Wednesday as part of the annual League-sponsored Hike the Hill trip. The groups crisscrossed Capitol Hill, meeting with nearly every member of the North Carolina delegation and the entire South Carolina delegation. Each team's message was focused and tempered by the reality of a calendar foreshortened by election season.

“There’s a reason Congress has a seven-percent approval rating,” shared CUNA Senior Legislative Representative Zach Pfister at the group’s Tuesday evening legislative briefing. “Very little is getting done. However, this doesn’t mean you don’t have a great opportunity to update members of Congress on a few relevant issues and share information about the great work credit unions are doing in their districts.”

Attendees did just that, according to CCUL SVP of Association Services Dan Schline.

“Several big issues we targeted earlier in the year, such as housing finance reform and tax reform, are now clearly not going anywhere this session,” Schline noted. “However, we did plan and deliver a strategic message to our lawmakers, updating them on the state of the NCUA’s risk-based capital proposal and on the ongoing impact of data security breaches.”

"It was refreshing to learn that Congress is fully aware of the risk-based capital proposal and is unified in the desire for NCUA to take a fresh look and make some significant changes," Lion's Share FCU President/CEO Mark Curran commented, noting U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry's direct letter to NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz. "I was glad to have the opportunity to thank (Cong. McHenry) in person for getting involved in an issue so important to credit unions."

Representatives also encouraged their senators to pass several pending regulatory relief measures. An overview of all the issues discussed on the trip is in the League’s Hike the Hill Meeting Guide produced for attendees.

"Overall, I thought all of our meetings today were positive and productive. We definitely have some strong supporters," Curran concluded.